Wilco, A Ghost is Born

Ah, summer! Like the lilacs (but without the nagging allergies), Wilco has blossomed anew from yet another line-up change, after guitarist/keyboardist Leroy Bach left the group on good terms in late January, just after wrapping up recording for A Ghost is Born. The band’s fifth full-length album and follow-up to 2002’s career-defining Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Ghost is what singer/songwriter Jeff Tweedy calls a “documentary-style recording.” The electronic experimentation and heavy textures of Foxtrot are gone, replaced with the simplicity of a bunch of guys playing music in a room. A room stocked with millions of dollars’ worth of top-notch equipment and Weezer engineer Chris Shaw, of course. Whatever the formula, we’re sure it will work for Wilco. As long as they don’t go replacing the drummer… (Available June 22)